


The Art of Long-Distance Relationships

by jerpid420



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Childhood Trauma, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, LGBTQ Character of Color, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29945925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jerpid420/pseuds/jerpid420
Summary: “Make me a promise,” Abed suddenly says, sounding dead serious.Troy looks into Abed’s eyes. Gentle and mysterious as always. “I’d do anything for you.”“Promise me that you’ll write me letters. And I’ll write you letters, too.”“How do we get them delivered?”“We won’t. We’ll keep them to ourselves, and once you come back, we’ll read all of our letters,” Abed explains.“Deal,” Troy replies. They quickly do their handshake.
Relationships: Abed Nadir & Britta Perry, Abed Nadir & Rachel, Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Annie Edison/Rachel (Community), Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Kudos: 9





	The Art of Long-Distance Relationships

Troy and Abed sit on a shelf with Britta. “I think you two need to talk some things out,” Britta says, breaking the silence. She feels like a third wheel right now. “Remember, it’s important to express all your feelings now. This trip can take a long time, so you don’t want to end up regretting this for years. I’ll leave.” Britta walks out of the room, careful to not touch the floor.

“We’re clones, by the way,” Abed calls out.

Troy turns to Abed. “Britta’s probably right,” Troy says. “We need to talk about some things. I’ll admit. I really love you.”

“I do, too,” Abed admits. “But I don’t think now is really the best time to label our relationship. Considering you leave soon.”

“Yeah,” Troy mutters. “I don’t know how I’m going to stay apart from you.”

“Me neither,” Abed replies, looking at the floor. He turns to Troy. “But we’ll see each other again. Right?”

Troy snuggles in with Abed. “Of course we’ll see each other again,” he convinces. He wasn’t sure whether he was convincing himself or Abed. Maybe both. “This trip will take maybe what? A year? A little more than that? As soon as this trip is over, the first thing I’ll do is search for you.”

Troy and Abed snuggle in with each other for a while. They’re unsure of how their relationship would progress without a year of contact. They don't know if they’d ever see each other again. They didn’t know anything about what would come soon, but they were fine with not knowing for a while. The warmth of each other is enough for them to adapt until they see each other after Troy’s trip.

“If we’re clones, now, does that mean we’re ‘clone friends forever’ instead?” Troy asks, lightening up the mood.

“CFFs,” Abed replies. “I like the sound of that.”

Troy and Abed laugh hysterically. It feels like the good ol’ times. But then they remember that this is the last time they’d hear each other's voice, at least for a year or two. And that thought makes their laughter fade away instantly.

“Make me a promise,” Abed suddenly says, sounding dead serious.

Troy looks into Abed’s eyes. Gentle and mysterious as always. “I’d do anything for you.”

“Promise me that you’ll write me letters. And I’ll write you letters, too.”

“How do we get them delivered?”

“We won’t. We’ll keep them to ourselves, and once you come back, we’ll read all of our letters,” Abed explains.

“Deal,” Troy replies. They quickly do their handshake.

They look into the storage room, letting themselves be with their own silence. Something is weighing down on Abed. “I feel scared,” Abed admits finally. “I know that it’s irrational, considering that you’re going on a trip all the way around the world, but—”

“You’re scared that you’ll have a breakdown,” Troy replies, instantly understanding. “That’s not an irrational fear at all. It’s valid. Me going around the world shouldn’t invalidate your mental health.”

“Thanks, Troy,” Abed replies. “You’re the only one that really understands me.”

Later, Troy is saying his goodbyes to his friends. When he gets to Britta, he silently whispers, “Check in with Abed. You’re the only therapist he would ever trust.” Which is true. Any other therapist could secretly be a fake therapist hired by Chang to send Abed to crazy people jail. When he gets to Annie, he makes her promise to take care of Abed. 

When he gets to Abed, Abed whispers, “I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” Troy whispers back. “But I’m worried. I feel like I’m making the wrong decision.”

“You’re not,” Abed assures him. “This isn’t permanent. As soon as your trip is over, we’ll see each other again.”

“I know,” Troy replies. “I’ll miss you a lot.”

Abed doesn’t say anything back. He doesn’t know what to say. Anything that he says further would make him tear up, and he didn’t like tearing up.

Later, Troy leaves, and Abed goes back inside. Britta follows him. “You’re very brave,” Britta replies. “I know how important Troy is to you. Letting him go is… a huge deal. I’m sorry if I Britta’d things during the lava game. I was only trying to help. But please, if you ever want to talk about something, talk to me.”

“Don’t feel sad,” Abed replies. “You helped us and made me acknowledge what I was going through. And don’t use your name as a synonym for screwing things up. You’re the best, Britta.”

Britta smiles, and Abed smiles back. His heart felt empty without Troy, and now that Troy was actually  _ gone _ , a sinking feeling enters his heart. The kind of feeling you get once your birthday party is over. That dreaded feeling of loneliness, that feeling that the fun is over, and now you have to clean up the mess. It’s there. That feeling won’t go away until Troy comes back, but hopefully, it’ll fade over time. 


End file.
